A python that appeared to grab a mongoose soon faced an unexpected barrage of more than 12 members of the small mammal’s group fighting back.

Here’s what to know

The video, shared on Instagram by Bestial Nature (@bestialnature) starts with the attack underway. It appears that the python has one mongoose wrapped tightly in its grip, while at least a dozen furry friends and family members assault the snake from every angle.

A colony or pack can offer a mongoose protection. Members may confront a threat together when one of them is endangered. This form of defense occurs in some social species of these small, carnivorous mammals.

The snake eventually lunges at other mongooses, but the horde appears to be too much for the serpent to handle. The video ends before there is a conclusion, but the mongoose clan seems to be overwhelming the snake, so it’s hard to imagine it ends well for the reptile.

Several details about the encounter remain unclear. The account does not identify either species, provide a location, or establish what ultimately happened to the animals.

More background

Mammals, birds, and reptiles are usual python prey, with the mix depending on the snake’s species and size. A mongoose is not a staple food, but pythons may take the opportunity to eat one, according to A-Z Animals.

A python applies pressure by coiling around an animal after first taking hold with its teeth. Pythons, unlike cobras, are nonvenomous. A python’s species matters when considering its length. Some species grow to just a few feet long, while the largest can exceed 20 feet.

Forests, grasslands, rocky terrain, savannas, scrublands, and open woodlands all provide mongoose habitat, though species use them differently. These mammals occur mainly in Africa and Asia.

Pythons, meanwhile, live in forests, wetlands, rocky areas, grasslands, and scrublands, creating some overlap with mongoose habitats. The snakes’ range covers Africa and Asia and extends to Australia and parts of Oceania.

What’s being done?

Resistance to venom does not prevent a python from constricting a mongoose. According to A-Z Animals, some mongoose species resist particular neurotoxins, especially those in cobra venom. In encounters with snakes, mongooses also depend on agility and quick bites.

A venomous bite can still endanger a mongoose despite its resistance to certain venoms. According to A-Z Animals, that resistance in some mongooses comes from alterations to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that make them less susceptible to those toxins.

Where can I learn more?

These related stories involve pythons swallowing prey, a cobra-python standoff, and a snake lunging at handlers.

• Near an airport in Maharashtra, a 10-foot python turned a rescue into a tug-of-war.

• In Rajasthan, a python swallowed a jackal and became trapped in a farm fence.

• In Assam, villagers returned a python to the wild after it swallowed six ducks.

• A Bihar family fled as a king cobra and python squared off.

• In South Africa, a snake lunged at handlers as a narrator warned it was upset.

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